Norwalk business counsels veterans, others facing foreclosure

By ROBERT KOCHHour Staff Writer

Published
4:45 pm EDT, Friday, March 18, 2016

Hour photo/Alex von Kleydorff

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal visits Residential Mortgage Modification Group, a small Norwalk business owned by U.S. Army veteran Todd Fagan, CEO and co-founder, and Robin Ramnath, president and co-founder. RMMG helps homeowners, especially veterans, remain in their homes when facing foreclosure.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal visits Residential Mortgage Modification Group, a small Norwalk business owned by U.S. Army veteran Todd Fagan, CEO and co-founder, and Robin Ramnath, president and co-founder. RMMG helps homeowners, especially veterans, remain in their homes when facing foreclosure.

NORWALK — Local veterans and others facing home foreclosure may be able to get help from Residential Mortgage Modification Group, LLC (RMMG) of Norwalk.

Founded by Todd A. Fagan and Robin Ramnath, RMMG works with New York-based affiliate Steward Redevelopment, LLC to repurpose properties facing foreclosure.

"We help veterans avoid having a foreclosure on their credit report and then we also turn the property into income producing where they will get a percentage of the income after all expenses are paid to the bank," Ramnath said. "If the homeowner can no longer keep the home and now the bank is looking to take it over through foreclosure, we partner with Steward Redevelopment. They help us to put the home into a trust and then we will put veterans in there."

Fagan, a U.S. Army veteran, said RMMG and Steward Redevelopment will perform light rehabilitation of the property if needed and also provide furnishings.

"We're also able to get furniture brought in there and then we get the veterans in," Fagan said. "It could be single-family housing. It could be multi-family housing. (The mortgage holder) can either be bought out or they can stay and get a portion of the rent roll."

RMMG opened an office in Bridgeport last October and an office at 25 Van Zant St. in Norwalk over the holidays. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Norwalk Mayor Harry W. Rilling visited the Norwalk office Thursday.

"Veteran-owned small businesses, such as RMMG, are the backbone of our economy. This business helps veterans and other homeowners retain their homes when facing foreclosure," Blumenthal said in a statement. "The Veteran-Owned Business loan is a key federal program that will help this business expand, so they can create more jobs, grow our economy, and help more people keep their homes."

Rilling described the foreclosure prevention as critical for individuals -- "one of the basic needs that people have is shelter" -- and encouraged Fagan and Ramnath to partner with the city to encourage home ownership. He cited the city's earlier Weed & Seed program.

"We conducted a program to teach people how they could get their own homes and we partnered with some banks and they arranged FHA loans," Rilling said. "Some people didn't realize you can own your own home for the same amount that you would end up paying in rent."

Fagan traces the inspiration for RMMG to his former work in the mortgage industry and his life experiences during the Great Recession.

"I've been in the mortgage business for 25 years and I was a loss-mitigation specialist for Bank of America and then I became a loan officer. I started my own company down in Atlanta," Fagan said. "In 2008 the Great Recession happened. I lost everything so my wife and I ended up coming back to Connecticut."

After returning to Connecticut, Fagan said he worked for nonprofit organizations providing foreclosure intervention and later first-time homebuyer counseling. Fagan later reached out to Ramnath, whom he had met years ago, and accepted his offer to team up. Fagan is RMMG CEO/co-founder; Ramnath is president/co-founder.

"We're just starting out and just getting our feet a little wet, but there's a lot of interest and there's a lot of people (needing counseling)," Fagan said.

In addition to helping persons facing foreclosure, RMMG works with individuals to improve their credit scores and create living wills and trusts.